Weston is our little warrior and although we have a long road ahead with lifetime challenges from his disease we have been given the best possible start and the greatest support along the way.
On October 15, 2021 the family’s lives were turned upside down when their newborn baby Weston was flown from their small country town of Inverell to John Hunter Children’s Hospital. With the immediate future of their family unit in chaos, and a diagnosis of an incredibly rare disease and blood disorder they were in complete turmoil. With only the basic of belongings they had with them and living out of a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Ronald McDonald House provided a home away from home within 5 days of the family arriving, so they could focus on what was important, Weston’s recovery.
“Since leaving RMHC Newcastle in mid-March after 163 nights, we moved straight to RMHC Westmead. Our eldest son Hunter donated his bone marrow and in early April, Weston was admitted to Camperdown Ward and received his Bone Marrow transplant.
We spent 50 days as inpatients and have recently been discharged back to the House in Sydney where we will reside for another 2 months before hopefully heading home. We have spent over 240 days away from home so far. We have not seen our older children, Poppy and Hunter, since the end of March but will hopefully have them down to visit in the coming weeks.
For our family, Ronald McDonald House has been an absolute saviour, when we arrived in Newcastle we had so many obstacles to battle and the basic need for accommodation was not in the forefront of our minds. We had very little with us after having to abandon our lives so abruptly but Ronald McDonald House provided us with most of the things we required to survive comfortably.
Nothing is ever too much trouble. We feel utterly blessed to be able to call Ronald McDonald House home for the next few months, this service is invaluable and we will be forever thankful” says Tara.
